A Very Fond Farewell
by mello-cellist
Summary: Dilan leaves the city seeking peace and a something to do with her bachelor's degree in agriculture. When she moves to Castanet Island, she fits right in with all of the townspeople, but why is she keeping her motives a secret? Where does she disappear to all the time? And why does she talk to the air all the time? Only one person is suspicious enough to find out. M to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

Dilan slipped out the door and shifted the backpack on her shoulder. She glanced around to make sure that nobody had awoken from the door opening. _Good_, she thought. _I've got a few hours to get the hell out of here_. She pressed the button down on the door's handle so the lock wouldn't make the clicking noise as she closed it. Dilan pulled the hood of her jacket over her face and started walking down the street, anywhere away from the place she'd once called home. She glanced at the docks, where she had often seen a little boat bring food and cloth from some island, unknown to her, somewhere in the middle of the ocean. _Perfect, _Dilan thought, grinning. The sun was just beginning to rise and the docks were clear of any soul, so she ran over to the boat, ducking behind a tower of boxes when she heard a scuffle come from one of the alleys. When she peeked over the top of the boxes, there was an older man struggling to lift some boxes and crates onto the little dock of the ship. _There's no way I can sneak onboard now…maybe I can buy a ticket somewhere,_ Dilan mused, inching towards the edges of the stack. She peeked over it again, taking another good look at the captain of the boat. He looked tired, but there were no suspicious bulges in his coat as if he were carrying a weapon. Dilan took a deep breath and emerged from behind the stack of boxes.

"Excuse me," she cleared her throat and held up her hands as the captain whipped around to stare at her. "Where does this boat go?"

"This here boat goes to Castanet Island, ma'am," the captain responded with a smile, which strained as he bent over to pick up another box. "Everything that gets on gets left at Harmonica Town." Dilan grinned; a small island in the middle of nowhere that only has a one-way trip? It was exactly what she was looking for.

"How much would a young lady need to pay in order to get to Castanet Island?" Dilan asked, following the man to the edge of the boat.

"Look here, little lady," the captain set the box down on the dock with a slam and turned to face Dilan, panting a bit. "The good people of Castanet don't deal with currency like yours. I don't take people from the mainland out there. The people are hardworking and close-knit; nobody has moved there in years."

"Please, sir," Dilan could hear the blood rushing in her ears. "I have to get away from here. I won't bother anyone there. I promise, I just need a new beginning."

"I'm sorry, ma'am," the captain shook his head and looked at Dilan, his smile fading. "I-"

"I know you'll say no," Dilan interrupted, clenching her fists. "But I have to get on that boat. I promise I'm not in any trouble with the law and I'm not going to cause any trouble on your island. I just need to get away for a little bit."

"I suppose if it's only for a short while," the captain rubbed his neck awkwardly, giving Dilan a once-over. "I know the mayor has a farm for sale, so I suppose you could stay there."

"Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!" Dilan cried, throwing her arms around the captain. "Thank you!"

"All right, all right," the captain chuckled and broke out of the impromptu hug. "You can put your stuff on the deck. You can call me Pascal. What'd you say your name was?"

"I'm…Angela," Dilan replied, throwing her backpack and her duffel bag on the deck of the boat. "Let me help you with those!" She started stacking boxes on top of each other and carrying them over to the deck.

"Why, thank you, Angela," Pascal grinned and surveyed the small dock. "I think that's all we need for this season. We'll be off now, if you're ready."

"I'm ready," Dilan replied, standing by the prow of the boat and smelling the sea air. As the boat began to slowly cut through the water, Dilan looked to the left and could see the sun just barely winking at her through the puffy clouds, sending flashes of light all across the ocean waves. _Castanet Island, here I come!_ she thought, grinning.

"So this is Harmonica Town?" Dilan looked at the small collection of brightly painted buildings.

"Yeah," Pascal grinned at her wide eyes. "It's pretty small compared to the mainland, huh?"

"This is perfect!" Dilan beamed. "Where should we put all of these crates?"

"We can put these crates in Ozzie's Fish Shop," Pascal grunted, lifting two stacked on top of each other. "I'll have Owen and Gill come down here and distribute these to the shops that need them."

"Okay," Dilan hefted two more crates, wondering who Owen and Gill were. She followed Pascal to a small blue building that had a brightly painted fish on a sign that hung over the door. A little bell tinkled Pascal nudged the door open with his foot and Dilan set foot into the tidiest place she'd seen. There were displays of fish, but they were all so neatly labeled and straight that she found it hard to believe they weren't plastic. Nets dangled overhead, which made Dilan giggle and duck her head. Behind the desk stood a very tanned man whose eyes were squinted under a wide-brimmed straw hat.

"A new shipment, Pascal?" the man had the widest smile Dilan had ever seen.

"Yes, Ozzie," Pascal set the boxes on the floor of the shop with a thump and grasped Ollie's hand. "It's nice to be back on the island."

"Thanks for the supplies," Ozzie nodded enthusiastically. "Winter was a bit harsh this year, so you'll be causing a lot of smiles. I'll help carry the rest of—oh, who's this?" Ozzie had caught sight of Dilan as he'd turned around to go out the door.

"My name is Angela," Dilan replied, and after setting her boxes on the floor, she shook Ozzie's hand. "I'm interested in the farm that the mayor is selling."

"Excellent, excellent!" Ozzie laughed, pumping Dilan's hand up and down rigorously. "I've been saying that we need a new farmer around here! Off to Hamilton with you!" Ozzie practically pushed Dilan out the door, following her with Pascal trailing behind.

"Um, where's Hamilton?" Dilan replied meekly.

"Mayor Hamilton's building is that yellow one right by the bulletin board," Pascal replied, pointing Dilan towards a bright building that seemed in desperate need of a paint job. "He'll get you set up on your farm and everything."

"And before you go, have this!" Ozzie dumped a few fish into Dilan's hands, grinning widely. "Welcome to Harmonica Town! Come visit the shop after you've settled in for a few days!"

"Thank you both so much," Dilan smiled, touched by the kindness that these men had shown her already. "I'll see you as soon as I'm settled in." She grabbed her bags out of the boat and turned to examine the pathway that led to the Mayor's building. The roads through town seemed to be made of stone, and Dilan noticed that she was the only one walking around, her shoes making a lonely _thmp_ on the pathways. The town appeared to be several years behind the technology that the city that Dilan was from had the privilege of giving its' citizens. Dilan came upon the bulletin board that stood beside the Mayor's building and took a quick glance at it. It was covered with faded, weather-beaten papers announcing the opening of a bar and a new general store. The more recent-looking papers announced festivals and a circus on days that had passed within the last month, Dilan figured. She shrugged, looking past the bulletin board and at the door that the mayor apparently could be found behind. She drew a deep breath, closing her eyes and steeling herself. This was what would begin her new life, and she could feel the years in the city fall away from her. And Dilan opened the door with an eagerness that she hadn't felt for years.

**Author's Note:**

Thanks for checking out this little tale! Chase is definitely my favorite bachelor from the HM series and I'm super excited to actually be following the storyline of Harvest Moon: Animal Parade. No, Finn is not with Dilan when she first comes to the island, but don't worry, he'll bring the action with him! There are going to be quite a few boring chapters in the beginning just so I can get everything into Dilan's head, even though you all know what Harmonica Town looks like and such. But I hope that this will be a fun mystery story for us all! I don't plan on revealing Dilan's motives for moving to Castanet until quite a bit later, but I did want to explain that I don't want Hamilton to be a bad guy, or creepy. I hope to make this little world perfect and happy so that all of my plans can unfold correctly. If you're interested in more Harvest Moon (specifically Chase) I have another fanfiction that will be updated as soon as I get the file back! Thank you for reading and please review! :)


	2. Chapter 2

"So this is Harmonica Town?" Dilan looked at the small collection of brightly painted buildings.

"Yeah," Pascal grinned at her wide eyes. "It's pretty small compared to the mainland, huh?"

"This is perfect!" Dilan beamed. "Where should we put all of these crates?"

"We can put these crates in Ozzie's Fish Shop," Pascal grunted, lifting two stacked on top of each other. "I'll have Owen and Gill come down here and distribute these to the shops that need them."

"Okay," Dilan hefted two more crates, wondering who Owen and Gill were. She followed Pascal to a small blue building that had a brightly painted fish on a sign that hung over the door. A little bell tinkled Pascal nudged the door open with his foot and Dilan set foot into the tidiest place she'd seen. There were displays of fish, but they were all so neatly labeled and straight that she found it hard to believe they weren't plastic. Nets dangled overhead, which made Dilan giggle and duck her head. Behind the desk stood a very tanned man whose eyes were squinted under a wide-brimmed straw hat.

"A new shipment, Pascal?" the man had the widest smile Dilan had ever seen.

"Yes, Ozzie," Pascal set the boxes on the floor of the shop with a thump and grasped Ollie's hand. "It's nice to be back on the island."

"Thanks for the supplies," Ozzie nodded enthusiastically. "Winter was a bit harsh this year, so you'll be causing a lot of smiles. I'll help carry the rest of—oh, who's this?" Ozzie had caught sight of Dilan as he'd turned around to go out the door.

"My name is Angela," Dilan replied, and after setting her boxes on the floor, she shook Ozzie's hand. "I'm interested in the farm that the mayor is selling."

"Excellent, excellent!" Ozzie laughed, pumping Dilan's hand up and down rigorously. "I've been saying that we need a new farmer around here! Off to Hamilton with you!" Ozzie practically pushed Dilan out the door, following her with Pascal trailing behind.

"Um, where's Hamilton?" Dilan replied meekly.

"Mayor Hamilton's building is that yellow one right by the bulletin board," Pascal replied, pointing Dilan towards a bright building that seemed in desperate need of a paint job. "He'll get you set up on your farm and everything."

"And before you go, have this!" Ozzie dumped a few fish into Dilan's hands, grinning widely. "Welcome to Harmonica Town! Come visit the shop after you've settled in for a few days!"

"Thank you both so much," Dilan smiled, touched by the kindness that these men had shown her already. "I'll see you as soon as I'm settled in." She grabbed her bags out of the boat and turned to examine the pathway that led to the Mayor's building. The roads through town seemed to be made of stone, and Dilan noticed that she was the only one walking around, her shoes making a lonely _thmp_ on the pathways. The town appeared to be several years behind the technology that the city that Dilan was from had the privilege of giving its' citizens. Dilan came upon the bulletin board that stood beside the Mayor's building and took a quick glance at it. It was covered with faded, weather-beaten papers announcing the opening of a bar and a new general store. The more recent-looking papers announced festivals and a circus on days that had passed within the last month, Dilan figured. She shrugged, looking past the bulletin board and at the door that the mayor apparently could be found behind. She drew a deep breath, closing her eyes and steeling herself. This was what would begin her new life, and she could feel the years in the city fall away from her. And Dilan opened the door with an eagerness that she hadn't felt for years.


	3. Chapter 3

A tiny bell tinkled in greeting as the door to the Town Hall opened. Dilan stepped inside and immediately took a huge whiff of the air. It smelled stuffy, like nobody had been inside for a while, but there was a short, older man standing behind a desk that was placed in the back left corner of the room. A glance around the room showed that it was a lot more gloomy than the outside had promised; Dilan could see dark-colored paintings hanging around the room and a vase of flowers wilting on a table that was surrounded by dark, dusty green couches.

"Oh, hello!" The man behind the desk jumped, as if he wasn't expecting anyone to have shown up, and plastered a big smile on his face. "How can I help you?"

"My name is Di-Angela," Dilan replied, stumbling over the introduction as she struggled to remember the name she had told Pascal. "I heard that you have a ranch for sale?"

"I do have a ranch that is for sale, but it's farther away from town," the man raised an eyebrow. "Are you from the mainland? We haven't had anyone interested in settling down here for many years."

"Yes, I'm from the mainland," Dilan replied, fumbling in her backpack for her wallet. "I have money, I can pay for the land."

"We don't accept currency from the mainland," the man laughed, and held up a hand. "I'm willing to let you lease the land, and pay for it when you have earned the money from the crops and products that you sell. Does that sound good?"

"That sounds wonderful!" Dilan exclaimed, wide-eyed at the man's generous offer.

"Let's see…the land will cost you 4000 gold, and I'll give you another thousand so that you can get yourself started," the man beamed enthusiastically. "It's so exciting to have a new young citizen! I'm the Mayor, Hamilton. It's a pleasure to meet you, Angela."

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well, sir," Dilan smiled and shook the Mayor's hand. "Thank you for your generosity and kindness."

"This is Castanet hospitality," the Mayor replied, smiling even as he filled out some paperwork and stamped a few papers. "This paperwork confirms that you'll be the owner of the land now, and I'll give these to Gill to file."

"Thank you, sir," Dilan shook his hand once more. "Where is the land?"

"There's a path that leads out of town, and it will take you right by the land," Hamilton scurried over to the lone window in the building and pointed past a photography shop. "The land has a main house, a barn, and a coop as well as a plot of land for farming. Of course, you can buy some more plots once your business gets on its feet, and you can always renovate your buildings with help from the carpenter's shop." The Mayor scampered back to his desk and pulled out another piece of paper, older from the others that he had been writing on, and handed it to Dilan. "This is a map. I suggest that today you just walk around and introduce yourself to everyone once you get settled into the house."

"Thank you very much for all of your help, sir," Dilan beamed and waved, opening the door to the building.

"Good luck!" Hamilton grinned and shot her a thumbs-up as Dilan walked out and closed the door behind her. Dilan took a deep breath of the air once she got outside; it was much purer than that of the Town Hall, and it cleared her head and allowed her to focus on getting to her new home. **_My_**_ new home_, Dilan thought excitedly, setting off on the path that promised her fresh start. The path almost immediately forked off into two, one that followed the ocean and merged into a beach area for a bit, and another that followed the mountainline. Dilan glanced at each, and decided to take the higher path. _I'll get distracted if I go on the beach path_, she thought, and vowed to revisit the path when she had time. She struggled along for a bit, pulling the duffel bag of clothes on the ground at times when it got too heavy, but Dilan spotted a house soon enough and jogged as best she could to the entrance. Yes, it was a bit run-down, but she could fix it up. There was a bed and bedside table, kitchen counters, a bookshelf, a dresser, and a large chest that lined the walls of the small, one-room house. A table and four chairs stood in the center of the room, and there were a few windows that streamed light inside.

"This is perfect!" Dilan shouted, laughing and dropping her bags. It was the first thing that she herself had bought, something for her to own, something that had her name on it. Dilan unpacked her backpack happily, placing the snacks and instant food in the cabinets that hung above the kitchen counters. She unceremoniously dumped the clothes that she had brought with her into the first few drawers of the dresser. _I can sort that out later,_ she thought, heading towards the door. _For now, it's time to explore!_ It was barley midday, and Dilan glanced at the map as she closed the door behind her. She'd head out to Flute Fields first, and explore Marimba Farm and Horn Ranch. Maybe she could even buy her first seeds! Dilan set off down the path, keeping the map out in case she got lost. She could hear the lapping of waves against sand and figured that it was a beach again. That side of the island seemed fairly close to the sea, and she could tell that there'd be a lot of fishing to do. Dilan could now see Flute Fields in the not-to-distant distance, a few buildings and a large windmill and watermill. She hurriedly crossed a stone bridge that crossed the river and fed the watermill, setting foot on a path that forked again. Dilan looked at the map and decided to go to Marimba Farm first, to see what kinds of seeds they had to offer. As she walked past the watermill, she turned around to look at the river and smiled. Suddenly, her back slammed into something solid and caused her to lose all of her breath with a tiny squeak of surprise.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" an annoyed voice sounded behind Dilan, and she fearfully turned around, eyes wide with the shock and shame of running into a stranger. This particular stranger had a particularly grumpy frown and condescending violet eyes. He ran his hand through his peach-colored hair in frustration. "News flash: you don't actually have eyes in the back of your head."

"S-sorry," Dilan stuttered, still half-crouched from being nearly knocked over. "I'm new…"

"Well, I didn't know a change of scenery could make someone so dumb," the young man's frown deepened and he swept past her, walking down the path from which Dilan had come. She was thrilled; she had just met her first neighbor!

"It was wonderful to meet you!" she called after the young man, turning and skipping back down the path she had intended to go. Dilan saw a small cottage that stood off to the side of the large building that appeared to be Marimba Farm and wondered if perhaps it was the neighbor that she had just encountered. She looked at the mailbox. "Chase's House," Dilan murmured, scratching her chin thoughtfully. She shrugged and decided to continue on into the farmhouse. The outside featured a cheery blue roof as well as a brightly painted sign that advertised several different vegetables that could be bought. Dilan smiled hopefully and walked into the store, another bright little bell welcoming her into a warm and well-lit room that contained several tables covered with produce. A tired-looking woman was behind a counter in the back of the room, tending a cash register. There were two adjournments to the main room, but doors closed them off from Dilan's wandering eyes. As she took in the fresh smell of produce, the woman behind the counter cleared her throat.

"May I help you?" she asked, her voice high and a bit strained.

"Hello," Dilan smiled and approached the counter. "I'm a new farmer, I've bought the land up near the beach. My name is Angela. I was hoping to meet my new neighbors."

"Well, it's always delightful to have a new young person in town," the woman gave a halfhearted smile. "My name is Ruth, and I run Marimba farm with my husband, Craig. I'm afraid you've come at a rather bad time for farming…the fields have not been very fertile lately and my lazy husband can barely bring in enough money for us to eat."

"I'm terribly sorry to hear that," Dilan replied, eyebrows scrunching in sympathy. "Please, let me know if I can help you in any way."

"Thank you," Ruth's smile was more than halfhearted and stretched the whole way across her face this time. "Would you like to buy some seeds?"

"Yes, please!" Dilan grinned back, scanning a laminated paper that advertised all of the seeds that Marimba Farm was currently selling. "I'd like ten tomato seeds, ten lettuce seeds, and ten cabbage seeds, please."

"Altogether, that comes too…" Ruth punched some numbers in on her cash register and looked back up at Dilan as it dinged with an answer. "About 400 G. Do you have G, or do you only have mainland currency?"

"Mayor Hamilton was willing enough to lend me 1000 G," Dilan dug around in her backpack and pulled out her wallet, which contained about 500 G. "Here you go!" She handed over 400 G and took the seeds that Ruth handed her in return. "Thank you very much, and I'll see you again soon!" Dilan waved as she stepped out the door.

"Good luck!" Ruth replied, shooting Dilan another full smile.

**_So I've done a lot of writing for this particular story, so I'll be updating it a lot more regularly now. I'm on break from university for another two weeks so hopefully I'll be able to get a lot of writing done for A Very Fond Farewell and Sweet and Sour. I hope this chapter makes up for the last one, which was shorter than I'll be making my usual chapters. Enjoy and please leave a review if you loved it or if you hated it!_**


	4. Chapter 4

**Yay, many updates! I actually have over 30 pages written for this one, so I'm probably going to do weekly updates (or every two weeks, depending on demand) and focus into writing more for Sweet and Sour. Thank you so much for reading A Very Fond Farewell! :)**

Dilan closed the door and shivered as she stepped outside. It was the middle of the day, but it was still spring and she had forgotten a jacket. _I'll have to look into buying a jacket when I go to the Tailor's,_ she thought, heading off in the direction of Horn Ranch. As she reached the top of the hill that led to Horn Ranch, Dilan noticed a small, overgrown path that led into the woods. She walked over to investigate and found a sign that said "Fugue Forest", and two large gates that led beyond, shut and locked with a padlock. Dilan decided to ask Mayor Hamilton where the key was and explore once she'd gone through town and met everyone. She backtracked to the top of the hill and walked down to the ranch. There was not a soul in sight, so she peered into the open doors of the huge barn that was built a little ways down from the ranch house. The barn was warm and bright and smelled of sweet-cut hay. There were horses, cows, sheep, goats, and ostriches all lined up at troughs that were neatly organized in the middle of the room.

"Hello," a small-built young woman stepped out from the other side of a horse she'd been grooming. "If you're looking to buy livestock, you're going to want to check with my mother, Hanna, in the ranch house."

"I'm just looking to introduce myself," Dilan smiled and extended a hand for the girl to shake. "My name is Angela. I just bought the old ranch up by the beach."

"It's so nice to meet you!" the girl grinned broadly and pumped Dilan's hand up and down. "I'm Renee, and this is my father, Cain." Renee gestured to a large black cow that was standing beside the horse she'd been grooming. Dilan gave Renee a weird look, then looked at the cow, and then looked at Renee again.

"Your father is…?" Dilan began, confused.

"I'm behind the cow," a man's head popped up over the cow. "Sorry, I was in the middle of milking. I'm Cain, and it's wonderful to have a new rancher. We love getting new young folk here." Cain grinned and made his way over to Dilan, also shaking her hand with a firm grip.

"So, you're just starting up your ranch?" Renee asked, a gleam in her eye.

"Yes, I've just picked up some seeds from Ruth at Marimba Farm," Dilan replied, laughing nervously. "I was hoping to get a goose and maybe a cow."

"Well, Piccolo over here just birthed a new calf," Cain began, beaming at his daughter. "We're pretty full here, and I'm sure Renee wouldn't mind if you took care of the little one."

"Oh, I couldn't ask you to do that!" Dilan gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. "Wouldn't you be losing money?"

"It's not about the money," Renee replied, leading a little calf over to Dilan with a gentle smile. "It's about being neighborly. Take one of these brushes, as well. If you brush her every day, she'll stay squeaky clean and she'll learn to really love you." Renee handed a lead to Dilan and clipped it onto the harness of the calf.

"I don't know how to thank you," Dilan stood in shock before crushing Renee into a hug. Renee laughed in surprise but embraced Dilan as well. Cain was not surprised when he was the next victim, and Dilan led her new calf away from the farm with the sound of laughter in the air.

Dilan had gone through Harmonica Town, meeting the beautiful sisters at Sonata Tailoring (who had promised to make her a jacket), joking with Kathy and Hayden at the Brass Bar, and having a lovely conversation with the couple that owned the Ocarina Inn, Colleen and Jake, and Colleen's mother, Yolanda. Dilan decided that she should visit the church, as she had attended church on the mainland and there was only one here on the island. As she climbed the well-paved stone steps to the church, Dilan noticed that the sun was already beginning to set, casting a lovely orange glow on everything. She walked to the center of a little courtyard that was right in front of the church and looked around. As she turned, she saw a ledge that overlooked the ocean, and the entire town; and someone was standing there. Dilan cautiously approached, clearing her throat a bit.

"Hello?" she began timidly, squinting her eyes against the sunlight as she got near enough to the figure to touch it. "My name is Angela, I'm new here, and I-" Dilan gasped when she recognized the figure, who had turned around and now looked at her with very sad violet eyes. "It's you! My first neighbor!"

"Yeah, hi," the young man sighed with boredom, leaning against the stone railing that surrounded the platform and propping his chin under his fist. "We've met."

"Well, I ran into you," Dilan corrected cheerfully, hopping up onto the railing so that she didn't have to look into the sun to see him. He glanced up at her with his eyebrows raised nonchalantly, clearly trying to convey his want to be alone. "We didn't really introduce ourselves." She stuck out a hand. "My name is Angela. What's yours?"

"I'm Chase," the young man stared at Dilan's hand as if she were offering him a plate of worms until she slowly lowered it.

"So, Chase," Dilan smiled. The name felt good on her tongue. "What do you do? I'm a rancher. I bought the land down by the beach."

"I'm a cook," Chase replied, sighing in surrender and running his hands through his hair again. Dilan noticed that some of his hair didn't budge, and was held in place by bobby pins. "I work at the Ocarina Inn and the Brass Bar. Not that it really matters, anyway. The fire's not hot enough for me to cook any decent food."

"So, have you worked on the mainland? It seems like you're used to better cooking conditions," Dilan asked curiously, studying Chase's face.

"Yeah, I worked in the city a bit," Chase replied, his face darkening. "Then I moved here for some peace. The fire used to be so much better…everything used to have so much life and now it's just…dead in some way."

"I wish I would've seen it in its prime, then," Dilan smiled, thinking about how the island could have been any better. "Even now, this island is so full of life!"

"What do you mean?" Chase glanced up at her, face actually registering curiosity.

"Well, all the people are so nice," Dilan explained, smiling at him. "I don't think it's the island itself that's full of life, but rather the people. I mean, I went over to Marimba Farm and Ruth told me how the soil is not as fertile as it used to be. But everyone here still lives and is happy living, and they have all been so enthusiastic welcoming me…it's not like that in the city." She shut her mouth abruptly, realizing she had been rambling, and took a sideways glance at Chase. He looked surprised, and had seemed to listen to every word she'd said.

"I never really thought about it that way," Chase turned his head to look out onto the ocean. "I guess I'm just not really alive in that way."

"I think you were pretty lively when you shot me those sarcastic remarks," Dilan suggested, hopping back off of the wall with a shrug. "Either way, I'm glad that you're alive, and I'm glad that this island is so alive. I think it's rather pointless to give up on living, don't you?"

"…I have to get to work," Chase stated, turning his head away from Dilan as he trudged back down the stairs.

"See you later!" Dilan called after him, grinning and waving. She got a halfhearted wave in reply, and Chase didn't even turn around. With another shrug of her own, Dilan walked into the church to meet the pastor, Perry. It was dark by the time Dilan got out of the church and out of a long theological discussion with Perry, so she started scurrying back down the steps and past the bulletin board before turning back when she heard her fake name called. It was Luna, the younger of the sisters that worked at Sonata Tailoring.

"Angela, I called your name like five times!" Luna complained, trotting over to Dilan and grabbing her hand.

"Sorry, my ears don't work too well," Dilan gave a helpless laugh. _I need to get used to being called Angela,_ she thought dryly.

"We're heading to the Brass Bar to meet up with Owen, Luke, Julius, and Pheobe from Garmon Mines," Luna laughed, pulling Dilan in the direction of the bar and Candace, the elder sister, who waved timidly and twisted her big blue braids nervously. "Come with us!"

"Well, I have to get back to the ranch and get settled in a bit," Dilan protested halfheartedly. At Luna's crestfallen look, she added, "You know what? There's always time for that tomorrow. I'd love to join you!"

"Awesome!" Luna fist pumped the sky and dragged Dilan and Candace through the door and into the painfully bright bar. Dilan blinked a few times in order to get used to the light, and then gasped in admiration at the beauty of the inside. The floor was dark lacquered wood, and polished to shine. The bar was homely and tended by a man with a huge, bushy beard and a loud laugh. A beautiful blonde, dressed a bit provocatively, weaved between tables delivering drinks and dishes of food with a dazzling smile, which only got wider when she spotted the girls that just entered.

"Angela! I'm so glad you could make it!" Kathy beamed, putting an arm around the new rancher, leading her, Luna, and Candace over to a table that was packed with chairs, four of them full. "All right everybody!" Kathy announced, gaining the attention of the three males and one female that were seated at the table. "I want to introduce Angela, the new rancher in town. Angela, this is Owen, Luke, Julius, and Phoebe. They live up in the Garmon Mines district of the island, and you'd have a nice little path to it if _someone_ could get their little housemate to fix the damn bridge!" Owen, a dark redhead, smiled at Dilan and waved before laughing at what Kathy said.

"Hey, I'm _not_ my father's apprentice's keeper," a golden-eyed, blue-haired young man protested. He wore a bandana on his head and had a large axe propped up against the leg of his chair. He turned to Dilan with a friendly and slightly insane grin. "I'm Luke. I'm the carpenter's son, so whatever you need done to your house or barn, we can handle it! We take things to the EXTREME!" Dilan laughed, surveying the two others that were sitting at the table. Phoebe was a green-haired beauty that wore a pair of red glasses that seemed a bit big for her face. She was laughing loudly with Luna and having a great time leading the conversation that was going on between the group that excluded Julius and Candace. Julius had long purple hair that was streaked with gold and even a bit of pink. He talked to Candace quietly, but often flung his hands in exaggerated motions or raised his voice a bit louder than necessary. Dilan grinned at the group and was about to sit down when her stomach grumbled loudly, shocking the friends gathered into laughter.

"Hey, Kathy! Angela needs some food, stat!" Luke called, pounding his fist on the table and making everyone's drinks jump. Kathy yelled back at him with some choice words and made her way over to where the group was sitting.

"What do you want to eat, Angela?" Kathy asked, opening up a notepad and grinning. "Chase can cook just about anything."

"Oh, yeah! Chase works here!" Dilan grinned excitedly while the rest of the table groaned or guffawed. "I'll have the cook's choice, whatever he wants to make! And maybe an orange cocktail to drink…I _love_ orange juice!" Kathy walked away, shaking her head and snickering a bit. Dilan turned back to the group. "What's wrong with Chase?"

"Where do we start?" Luke laughed, pounding his fist on the table again and earning another choice word from Kathy. "He's so not EXTREME!"

"Chase is just…not a very socially adept person, if you know what I mean," Phoebe explained expertly, adjusting her glasses and taking a sip of her grape cocktail as she did so.

"He's so mean!" added Luna, pouting a bit. "He's always insulting people!"

"He wasn't mean to me," Dilan replied, confused a bit.

"Honey, I'm sure you didn't think he was," Julius cooed, flapping a hand. "But I'm sure that he was insulting you in his own special way."

"Here's what Chase made you, it's some yakisoba," Kathy set down a steaming plate in front of Dilan and plopped down a fancy beverage glass as well. "That'll be 300 G."

"Thank you!" Dilan beamed and dug the money out of her backpack, giving Kathy the correct amount before digging into her food. "It's so yummy!" A small drop of drool escaped from Dilan's lips as she was chewing a forkful of the food, making everyone point at it and bust out laughing. Dilan shrieked and wiped her mouth immediately with a napkin.

"I'll be sure to mention this to the chef," Kathy wiped a tear from her eye and went back behind the bar, where she joined Hayden in cleaning the glasses.

"So, Angela," Luke grinned at the farmer and leaned his chin on his fist. "What brings you to Castanet?" The rest of the group nodded eagerly, turning to see what the young rancher would say next. Dilan swallowed her food hard, laughing nervously and patting her mouth with her napkin.

"I just got bored with city life," Dilan replied with a small smile. It wasn't a total lie. "I finished up my bachelor's degree in agriculture and decided to get some hands-on experience." Still not a total lie, she did have a bachelor's degree in agriculture.

"That's so cool!" Phoebe exclaimed, scooting closer to Dilan. "What's college like? Is that knowledge useful to you now?"

"Of course," Dilan laughed, gulping down her orange cocktail. "All knowledge is useful. We only deem it unnecessary when it doesn't apply to the situation that we're in."

"A philosopher, are we?" Luna giggled, looping arms with Dilan. "You should help out at the school, Angela."

"Well, I don't know much about teaching," Dilan replied, smiling at the girl. "I'll just focus on the whole ranch thing for now."

"Sorry to be that guy, everybody," Luke pushed his chair back and stood up with a yawn and a stretch. "I have to get going, I have some orders to fill tomorrow morning and Dad doesn't like it when I get behind."

"We do all have jobs tomorrow morning," Candace murmured regretfully, glancing at Julius.

"We should do this again tomorrow night," Dilan smiled at her new friends. "I really had a great time meeting you all and hanging out."

"Let's do it!" Luna fist pumped the air again. "Tomorrow night at 6:00, let's all meet right here again!"

"Sounds like an EXTREME plan!" Luke raised his axe and cheered. "See you all tomorrow!"

**This is probably what the length of a chapter is going to be, but if you'd prefer longer (or shorter) chapters, please let me know in the comments! I'd also love any advice, so even a comment about something you don't like would be awesome to hear about! I'd be happy to answer any questions or just chat about the story, so go ahead and leave a comment or message me! Thank you so much for reading! :)**


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